Like this:

My husband took me out for a drive up around the lake that’s about 7 miles from where we live yesterday. They call Arkansas the Natural State for good reason. If you live here, there is pretty much a lake, stream , river, pond, or body of water of some sort near driving distance from where you live. People hunt here, they fish, there are more critters of the furry , scaled, flying, and feathered variety than you could shake a stick at. We have huge loblolly pines, cedars, oaks, practically any kind of tree you could imagine. I love it here.

During my childhood I spent more time outdoors than I EVER spent in. I was a wildling. I hated bathing, combing my hair only when made to, did not wear shoes, rode a horse everywhere , went without a shirt , dressed as a boy; people thought my Dad had three daughters and ONE son, and he most of the time did not bother to correct them. Two of my favorite things , other than riding, were to climb the tallest tree I could find, and the other, were to go up what we called ‘ the dirt road’ and lay in Mr. Plant’s pasture for hours and just watch the clouds go by overhead. There is something so amazing about just feeling the grass under your back, and smelling the trees, and not having to worry about a single thing.

Then I lost all that. Some crazy illness from the pit of wherever these things come from stole that from me. The very sunshine itself made me sick. I couldn’t even get out in it. It were as if I became a vampire. A pale shadow of myself. Smelling the grass made me break out into hives. Pine trees made me come down with infections so severe I ‘d need antibiotics. Heck. I couldn’t even climb a tree without becoming so winded I ‘d feel like passing out. The fatigue was unbelievable.

Fast forward 15 plus years to yesterday and the ride round the lake I was telling you about. I have lupus and assorted other things . We know that now. I deal. The thing is, I have bad spells . I get really sick, so I hadn’t been out , not really ,in so very long, because the problem I’ve been dealing with lately is what they call syncope. That’s a fancy word for passing out. Kissing the carpet. Not fun. No drives. Heh. Shoot. No sitting up for very long without feeling light headed. But I’ve felt better the last couple of weeks so up to the lake we went. It was spectacular. Everything was greener than I have ever seen it. Suddenly a tear leaked out of the corner of my eye. The minute it does my husband starts to pull the car over thinking I’m getting sick. ” What’s wrong? Are you okay?!?” he asked nervously. “Yeah. Yes. Yes. It’s just so beautiful.”

I fairly ever write a “RANT” blog. I mean, I just don’t believe in it. The world is negative enough, so why add to it right? But I saw something today , that I just COULDN’T LET GO. I tried. I really, really tried. I tried to think about it only in my head, I tried to only have a mini-discussion with my hubs, but I JUST. COULDN’T .LET. IT. GO.

The world is full of crazy things, I know. And apparently the Jenners\Kardashians are a big part of it. Bruce Jenner with his transformation into, ( as my Grandpa Capps would say ), he\she\whatever the heck he is , the Kylie Jenner challenge , cause apparently today’s kids aren’t smart enough to know that if you suck your lips into a shot glass they’ll swell up to the size of a road lizard, and stay that way for a week. ‘Cause check this out we all want our kids lips to look like this

And now, these ignernt , that’s right, I said ignernt young’uns want to “trademark ” their own names , so that anybody that comes after ’em can’t call themselves Kylie or Kendall , too. Not that at the rate of THEIR stupidity we’d WANT to . ‘Cause Lord knows we’re ALLLLLL lined up waitin’ to name our kids after this batch of kids. When what we really all want to do is sing that song from the Disney musical

Use what talent you possess: The woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang the best. ~ Henry Van Dyke

I like to sing. I don’t know that I’m any good at it, but I enjoy it. I especially like turning the radio up loud when I’m in the car by myself, and just letting it all go. I know the people at stop lights probably wonder if I’m cleared to drive, but hey, life is too short to worry about what the person in the next car thinks, right? Music is good for the soul, they say, and I have found that to be true. When I don’t feel well, I love turning the music channel on the t.v. and listening to depressing songs. Sounds weird probably, but it helps me feel better. Hearing other people sing about how their life sucks just kind of makes you realize that maybe yours isn’t so bad. I had never seen the above quote before today. I think it’s great, though. I wish more people felt like that. When I was little my dad used to take me out in the woods a lot. I loved sitting with him and listening to all the sounds of the outdoors. I hadn’t really thought about what the forest would sound like if only the best birds sang. You don’t really imagine one bird saying to another, “Geez, Bill, you are SO off-key! What is with you?!? Thinking you can sing and crap? Get real!” No, I guess they are probably all just happy with what the Good Lord gave them, and just happy with the fact that they didn’t get eaten overnight or anything. If we were more grateful for the small things in life, we might have more to sing about……..Hmmmmm…..well, I didn’t get eaten overnight……believe I’ll sing! 🙂

This is a poem I wrote today after seeing some birds outside my window. I got to thinking about how optimistic they are in the face of how the weather still is outside today. It is beautiful here today, but still chillingly cold. The sun was out, but the wind was biting. The birds , however just looked so very happy to be out in the gorgeous redbud tree. The buds of the tree themselves were totally unfazed. Just brightly purple ,contrasted nicely with the red of the birds, who seemed so contented to just see spring finally arriving after the winter of snow and ice, that it was hard to fault their joy. It was beautiful to watch them enjoy the sunshine, and eating the seeds that they were finding. I was almost envious of their joy. It was very inspiring. Just a little something I wanted to share with you . Something that caught my attention today. Hope this finds you feeling creative , or inspired by something, that maybe you haven’t really noticed before in your life, or that maybe you have, but noticed it in a new way. ~ Ruby Jeanette

I need the feel of the warm sunshine on my face. The sound of the birds , waking up to find their own breakfasts. The smell of the tomatoes in the garden , after the rain. I visited our biggest city for a doctor’s visit, yesterday. We were early so we toured the grounds, and found the outdoor garden with the waterfall and pond. There were trees and birds. But , in the background, steady, was the sound of a metropolis. The car horns, the people talking, sirens, and over it all the constant , rushing drone of traffic. I felt bad that even that the small bit of nature there was overwhelmed with such a large amount of noise. I understand that there are people who love the hustle and bustle of a big city. The choices of restaurants, shops, and modern conveniences is a huge draw, I’m sure. But to be so far from the earth, with cement and glass all around? I have to say , I find it extremely unsettling. I can’t imagine living my daily life in a place like that. It all seems too sterile somehow. It’s as if there is a surplus of people , but a deficit of humanity. I was grateful to get back to my little house in the “sticks”. To walk barefoot in the grass again.

Like this:

( Early bird, or night owl?) ~ I have weird sleep habits. Don’t get me wrong, I like my 8 hours just as much as the next gal, but I don’t usually get that much. I like to be up late. It ‘s going to sound strange , maybe, but it’s the only real time I get to myself. The house is quiet, and I don’t have anyone clamoring for my attention, or needing something from me. It’s great to be needed, but everyone needs an hour just to clear their brain, and kind of breathe, you know? But the really kooky thing is, that even though I like to be up late, I really DO like to get up early. Threre is just something about early morning, that I find attractive. The sun coming up, the birds start their morning routines, and I get the day started with them. What I really LOVE is doing my grocery shopping super early. It’s wonderful to walk down the aisles, and be able to take your time, not having people rushing past you , basically needing you to move because they are in a hurry. I spend a lot less money that way too, because I don’t have to speed through , grabbing whatever , just so I can be done. So, I don’t know, if that classifies me as an early bird, or a night owl. Maybe I ‘m an early bird adopted by a family of night owl, or vice versa. I dunno. I don’t know anybody who lands in one defined category in anything in life, though, so maybe this is no different! Strict rules are for the birds, anyway………..lol 😉